HUNTSVILLE — The annual War Eagle Steward Award was presented to Ron Duncan of Springdale. Duncan is a Commissioner with the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission. He was honored for his lifelong dedication and appreciation of War Eagle River.

War Eagle Mill also was honored with a War Eagle Steward Award for its longstanding commitment to the War Eagle and the larger Northwest Arkansas community. Liz Kapsner, who handles marketing and sales for the mill, and Jennifer Keefe were on hand to receive the award.

Awards are presented each year during War Eagle Appreciation Day, a community-wide event held at Withrow Springs State Park. The daylong gathering includes a family friendly float with education stations, music and food, and activities focused on the environment and community. Award winners receive a metal sign that bears the War Eagle logo and identifies the recipient as a War Eagle Creek Steward.

The program promotes awareness of the impact that land owners, residents, business owners/operators and other community members have on the watershed and recognizes those who have worked hard to protect the War Eagle Creek watershed by in some way by making a significant contribution to the water quality of the War Eagle. War Eagle is a tributary to Beaver Lake, which provides drinking water for one in seven Arkansans.

“Anyone who knows me knows the War Eagle River is my religion,” said Ron Duncan, a lifelong educator who’s been floating, fishing and introducing young and old alike to the bounties of War Eagle for more than 40 years. Duncan said as much when he shared his love of the river while fishing in the Emmy-award winning 2011 documentary “Bridge to War Eagle.”

Duncan founded what is now the nationally known “Hooked on Fishing, Not on Drugs” program, which originated with a fishing club he started in 1982 at Springdale Central Junior High School, where he was a civics teacher. Since that time, thousands of similar clubs have formed nationwide. In Arkansas, the program is administered by Arkansas Game and Fish Commission.

Duncan was inducted into the Arkansas Outdoor Hall of Fame in 2004. Duncan has twice been honored as the Bass Anglers Sportsman Society Man of the Year and was the National Wildlife Federation Educator of the Year in 1999. Through the fishing clubs he’s championed, Duncan has worked closely with the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission’s education and fisheries divisions. A graduate of the University of Arkansas, Duncan joined the Springdale School District in 1974. Duncan’s term on the AGFC expires on July 1, 2015.

War Eagle Mill, Arkansas’ only working water-powered grist mill, has been grinding fresh organic grains and flours for the community since the 1830s. The mill and its store and restaurant provide an inviting destination for locals and visitors alike, from tourists and motorcycle riders to serious arts and crafts visitors who return each year to this world-renowned and charmed place. The close knit staff at the mill love what they do and their enthusiasm and care for the food and products they market is palpable. War Eagle Mill, the picturesque, historic bridge, and all the environs surrounding it are forever tied to the health and well-being of the water that makes this mill possible. There’s no doubt that the mill is a War Eagle Creek Steward and deserves recognition. For more information, visit www.wareaglemill.com.

This year’s War Eagle Appreciation Day is an official event affiliated with 2013 Water Watch Week, coordinated by Ozarks Water Watch. For information, visit http://www.uwrb.org/waterwatchweek.php. War Eagle is a sub-watershed of Beaver Lake Watershed. A watershed is an area of land that drains water, sediment, and dissolved materials to a common receiving body or outlet, which in this case is Beaver Lake, the primary source of drinking water for most of Northwest Arkansas. The purpose of the event is to draw attention to the rich history of War Eagle and the many benefits that War Eagle Creek brings to Madison County and Northwest Arkansas.

Alligator hunt permit applications available online

LITTLE ROCK — Arkansas hunters may apply for alligator hunting permits for the 2013 season. The application period lasts from midnight, June 10, until midnight, June 24. Permits will be drawn in July.

Each permit authorizes the harvest of one alligator, which must be at least 4 feet long. Alligator hunting is allowed 30 minutes after sunset until 30 minutes before sunrise during the approved alligator hunting season dates — Sept. 20-23 and Sept. 27-30. Applicants must be at least 16 years of age the day the hunt begins, and only Arkansas residents or holders of an Arkansas Lifetime Sportsman’s Permit may apply. Applicants with 12 or more AGFC violation points are ineligible to apply.

Successful applicants must attend a hunter orientation class at one of the following locations before the hunt:

• AGFC Hope Regional Office

• AGFC Monticello Regional Office

• AGFC Little Rock Headquarter

Visit www.agfc.com for more information regarding the special alligator permit hunts and to apply.

Big Bass Bonanza coming to Arkansas River June 28-30

LITTLE ROCK — For many Arkansas fishermen it is a dream. One cast can win the equivalent of a year’s salary — the $50,000 top prize.

It is the Arkansas Big Bass Bonanza scheduled Friday through Sunday, June 28-30, and the competition is on all of the Arkansas River in the state. Big Bass Bonanza is operated by the Arkansas Hospitality Association.

Professional bass fishermen are not allowed to enter the tournament.

Anglers can choose to fish one, two, or all three days of the tournament. Entry fee to fish is $80 each day — if the fisherman enters by Thursday, June 13. After that, the entry fee will be $90 a day.

The angler with the over-all biggest bass gets a guaranteed $50,000. The river is divided into five pools for the tournament, and winners of the other four pools are guaranteed $10,000 each.

Hourly first, second and third place winners in each of the five pools will receive money based on the number of entries in the tournament. Last year the hourly prizes were $500 for first, $250 for second and $125 for third. A total of $188,850 in prize money was awarded in 2012.

There is an extra $100 for wearing Big Bass Bonanza caps and T-shirts at the weigh-in for each of the hourly first, second and third place anglers. Additional prizes include one competition that always draws interest, the Willow Leaf Award, going to the parent-child combination or grandparent-grandchild, weighing in the largest bass for the tournament.

Fishermen can choose to fish any of the five pools and can fish different pools during the three-day event if they want to. However, all fish must be weighed in the pool in which they were caught. Eligible fish species include largemouth, smallmouth and spotted or Kentucky bass.

The tournament begins at 6 a.m. on all three days, with the first hourly weigh-in at 8 a.m. and subsequent weigh-ins at the top of each hour until the final 1 p.m. weigh-in. The five weigh-in sites are Clear Creek Park at Fort Smith, Dardanelle State Park at Russellville, Alltel Ramp at North Little Rock, Regional Park at Pine Bluff and Pendleton Bridge east of Dumas.

To enter or for more information, go online to arkansasbigbass.com or contact the Arkansas Hospitality Association at 501-376-2323.

Anglers from many other state in addition to Arkansas compete in the Big Bass Bonanza. Last year, 21 states were represented. In the 24 years of the tournament, there has not been a repeat over-all winner. Last year’s winner was David Shopher of McGehee with a 6.27-pound largemouth. He was fishing from a 14-foot flatbottom boat.

Arkansas Forestry Association hosts 2013 teacher conservation tour

MONTICELLO — The 2013 Teacher Conservation Tour, sponsored by the Arkansas Forestry Association Education Foundation, will be June 17-21 in Monticello. The focus of the five-day workshop is on the environmental and economic benefits of Arkansas’s forestlands.

The educational workshop and tour provides educators with a lot of time in the woods, learning about the interaction between forests, the environment and the economy. Participants will tour forest product manufacturing facilities, view wildlife conservation efforts, as well as harvesting and replanting operations all while learning valuable information about forest communities. Participants also will meet and learn from natural resource professionals who are in the field conducting the work on a daily basis.

“This is not your typical 8-4 classroom workshop,” stresses Rob Beadel, AFAEF Education Director. “Our days are long and packed full of field activities keeping the participants engaged throughout the week.” Teachers will earn 30 professional development hours including six technology hours and two hours of Arkansas History approved by the Arkansas Department of Education.

Although the five-day workshop provides teachers of grades K through 12 with professional development, any formal or informal educator may apply for the tour. The AFAEF covers all food, lodging and tour costs.

The workshop will be based at the School of Forest Resources at the University of Arkansas at Monticello campus. Lodging will be provided at the Holiday Inn Express. The $125 registration fee covers all lodging, meals, and transportation during the workshop. Participants must provide their own transportation to and from Monticello. Space is limited to 25 participants and selected on a first-received, first-reserved basis. Visit the AFA website at http://www.arkforests.org/teacher-conservation-tour.html for more information about the Teacher Conservation Tour and to download an application form.

The $125 registration fee is required at the time of application and will be refunded if you are not selected to attend. Applications must be mailed in and include the $125 registration fee. A downloadable application form is available here.

If you have questions, please contact Rob Beadel at (501) 374-2441 or rbeadel@arkforests.org.

How’s your habitat? Shrub Thickets – Covey headquarters for quail

LITTLE ROCK — The northern bobwhite is the native quail species found throughout Arkansas. These predominantly ground-dwelling birds are primarily found in areas that contain large amounts of edge habitat. Edges are boundaries between different habitat types or land use practices.

The home range of a quail covey can cover as little as 20 acres up to 160 acres. In that home range, quail require various types of habitat, including: escape cover, nesting habitat, brood rearing habitat and feeding and loafing areas.

So, what is a “covey headquarters” and how does it fit into the equation for great quail habitat? Covey headquarters are patches of escape cover with dense, shrubby canopy cover and little ground-level vegetation. Headquarters are used by quail on a daily basis to provide protection against severe weather and predators along with resting and loafing areas.

The percentage of the landscape designated as covey headquarters can range up to 20 percent of the total area, with the remainder set aside for the other habitat components needed by quail. Covey headquarters should be provided in clusters of not less than 30 feet by 50 feet blocks of shrubs that are not more than 150 feet apart, which will allow the quail to have quick access to their escape cover if the need arises.

Shrubs that serve well for this habitat component include: wild American and Chickasaw plum, fragrant and smooth sumac, rough-leaved dogwood, deciduous holly, cockspur hawthorn and American beautyberry. Plum thickets are an excellent example of quail convey headquarters and occur naturally on many properties across Arkansas.

Existing Thickets — Protect and manage any existing plum or other shrubby thickets on your property. These shrubby thickets can be improved to better benefit quail. If invasive grass species take over the ground-level cover, those grasses should be treated with a herbicide, timing depending on whether they are warm season or cool season. This will re-open that ground-level cover making it easier for quail to move throughout the headquarters. Also, any over-hanging or adjacent trees to the plum thicket should be removed from the area. This strategy will help reduce predation from overhead predators and also provide a clear flight path for quail to escape from ground predators.

Creating Thickets — If thickets do not occur naturally on your land, they can be established by planting seeds, seedlings or container-grown shrubs. For beautyberry, dogwood and sumac, spacing should be on a 3 foot by 6 foot spacing. Other shrubs can be planted on a 5 foot by 8 foot spacing. Just remember, thickets intended for use as covey headquarters should be established in edge habitat, those areas of transition between habitat types and in open fields lacking shrubby cover. After you have identified the best location for your headquarters, the existing vegetation should be controlled using an herbicide before you plant the shrubs. This will promote the growth of your new plantings as well as open the ground-level cover to facilitate quail movement throughout the new headquarters.

Headquarter Maintenance — Whether you have existing or newly planted covey headquarters, you should avoid damaging these when conducting other habitat management practices on your property, i.e. prescribed burning or disking. Herbicides can be used to control invasive grasses within and around your thickets; however care should be used to avoid spraying shrubs. Also, livestock should be excluded from these areas to maintain the integrity of the thicket as a quail covey headquarters.